Method and apparatus for utilizing personal computing resources for mobile print conversion and routing

ABSTRACT

A method, non-transitory computer readable medium, and apparatus for mobile print conversion and routing are disclosed. For example, the method receives at a mobile print server a print job request from a mobile endpoint device, determines at the mobile print server that a personal computing resource is available to convert the print job request, determines at the mobile print server to send the print job request to the personal computing resource and sends by the mobile print server the print job request to the personal computing resource for conversion of a document in the print job request that is to be printed.

The present disclosure relates generally to print conversion and routingand, more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for utilizingpersonal computing resources for mobile print conversion and routing.

BACKGROUND

One of the limitations introduced with mobile endpoint devices is thelack of a print subsystem. Many print vendors have compensated byintroducing a cloud infrastructure for server based conversion androuting. While this architecture does work, it does not scale well in aglobal environment since the server becomes a bottleneck for documentconversion. For example, during periods of high volume of print requeststhe processing availability of the servers can become a bottleneck.

In addition, the servers may be located thousands of miles away from themobile endpoint device or printer that the mobile endpoint device istrying to print to. This leads to an increase in latency to spool thedocument due to the geographic distance introduced between thecentralized conversion bank and the destination printer.

SUMMARY

According to aspects illustrated herein, there are provided a method, anon-transitory computer readable medium, and an apparatus for mobileprint conversion and routing. One disclosed feature of the embodimentsis a method that receives at a mobile print server a print job requestfrom a mobile endpoint device, determines at the mobile print serverthat a personal computing resource is available to convert the print jobrequest, determines at the mobile print server to send the print jobrequest to the personal computing resource and sends by the mobile printserver the print job request to the personal computing resource forconversion of a document in the print job request that is to be printed.

Another disclosed feature of the embodiments is a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality ofinstructions, the plurality of instructions including instructionswhich, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform amethod that receives at a mobile print server a print job request from amobile endpoint device, determines at the mobile print server that apersonal computing resource is available to convert the print jobrequest, determines at the mobile print server to send the print jobrequest to the personal computing resource and sends by the mobile printserver the print job request to the personal computing resource forconversion of a document in the print job request that is to be printed.

Another disclosed feature of the embodiments is an apparatus comprisinga processor that is configured to receive at a mobile print server aprint job request from a mobile endpoint device, determine at the mobileprint server that a personal computing resource is available to convertthe print job request, determine at the mobile print server to send theprint job request to the personal computing resource and send by themobile print server the print job request to the personal computingresource for conversion of a document in the print job request that isto be printed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The teaching of the present disclosure can be readily understood byconsidering the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a communication network of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example flowchart of one embodiment of a methodfor registering one or more personal computing resources with a mobileprint server;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example flowchart of one embodiment of a methodfor using a personal computing resource mobile print conversion androuting; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a high-level block diagram of a general-purposecomputer suitable for use in performing the functions described herein.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure broadly discloses a method and non-transitorycomputer readable medium for using a personal computing resource formobile print conversion and routing. As discussed above, one of thelimitations introduced with mobile endpoint devices is the lack of aprint subsystem. Many print vendors have compensated by introducing acloud infrastructure for server based conversion and routing. However,the cloud infrastructure with servers have drawbacks, such as forexample, the server can become a bottleneck for processing, latencydepending on the location of the servers, scalability due to the costsof additional servers, and the like.

One embodiment of the present disclosure uses personal computingresources to perform the conversion for print job requests. Typically,most users have more than one computing device. The computing devicesthat are not being used by the user may sit idle. As a result, a largeamount of processing power may sit idle without being used. However, ifthe idle computing devices can communicate over a wired or wirelessnetwork, some of the processing required by the servers used forprocessing mobile print job requests can be offloaded to personalcomputing resources that may be sitting idle.

To better understand the present disclosure, FIG. 1 illustrates anexample of a communication network 100. In one embodiment, thecommunication network 100 may include a packet network such as anInternet Protocol (IP) network 102. The IP network 102 may be, forexample, the Internet, a service provider network, an access network, acore network, a local area network, and the like.

In one embodiment, the IP network 102 may include one or more mobileprint servers 104. In one embodiment, the mobile print servers 104 mayperform mobile print conversion and routing. For example, the mobileprint servers 104 may receive a print job request and convert a documentassociated with the print job requested into a proper format forprinting and route the converted document in the print job request tothe appropriate printer to be printed.

In one embodiment, the mobile print servers may include a database ormemory for queuing print job requests, storing software protocols,storing one more printers and printer locations, and the like. In oneembodiment, the mobile print servers may be embodied as a generalcomputing device as described below and illustrated in FIG. 4.

Although the one or more mobile print servers 104 are located in the IPnetwork 102, it should be noted that the one or more mobile printservers 104 may be located outside of the IP network 102. Although theone or more mobile print servers 104 are illustrated in FIG. 1 as beingnear one another, it should be noted that the mobile printer servers 104may be distributed in different geographical locations.

In one embodiment, a mobile endpoint device 106 may be in communicationwith the one or more mobile print servers 104 via the IP network 102.The mobile endpoint devices 106 may communicate with the IP network 102via a wired or wireless connection. Although only a single mobileendpoint device 106 is illustrated, it should be noted that any numberof mobile endpoint devices may be deployed. In one embodiment, themobile endpoint device 106 may be a laptop computer, a mobile endpointdevice, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a netbook computer, and thelike. In one embodiment, the mobile endpoint device may be embodied as ageneral computing device discussed below and illustrated in FIG. 4.

In one embodiment, the mobile endpoint device 106 may send a print jobrequest to the one or more mobile print servers 104 to print a document.In one embodiment, a document may be defined broadly as any data orelectronic file that a user would like to print, for example, a webpage(s), a word processing page(s), an image, a graphic, a spreadsheetpage(s), a screenshot, and the like.

In one embodiment, the mobile endpoint device 106 may include in theprint job request to print on a printing device 112. Although only asingle printing device 112 is illustrated in FIG. 1, it should be notedthat any number of printing devices may be deployed. In one embodiment,the printing device 112 may be any device capable of printing andcommunicating with the IP network 102 via a wired or wirelessconnection. For example, the printing device 112 may be a inkjetprinter, a laser printer, a networked copying/fax/printing machine, amulti-function device, and the like.

Currently, the print job request would be sent to the one or more mobileprint servers 104 and the one or more mobile print servers 104 wouldplace the print job request in a queue, eventually perform conversion ofthe print job request and then route the print job request to theprinter 112. However, as discussed above, the user may have one or morepersonal computing resources 108 and 110 that may be sitting idle as theuser is using the mobile endpoint device 106. For example, the user mayhave a desktop computer 108 at his or her office and a tablet computer110 at his or her home. Although a desktop computer 108 and the tabletcomputer 110 are used as example personal computing resources, it shouldbe noted that a personal computing resource may include any computingdevice, such as for example, a laptop computer, a netbook computer, adesktop computer, a ultrabook computer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, and the like. In one embodiment, a “personal” computing devicemay be defined as any computing device that the user may own, beassigned to or have access to remotely. For example, the personalcomputing device may be a user's own desktop at his or her home or anoffice computer that the user may access via his or her log-in orauthentication credentials.

In one embodiment, the personal computing devices 108 and 110 may beembodied as a general computing device as described below andillustrated in FIG. 4. Although two personal computing devices 108 and110 are illustrated in FIG. 1, it should be noted that any number (moreor less) of personal computing devices may be deployed.

In one embodiment, the user may be traveling and using the mobileendpoint device 106 to find and print documents. As a result, thepersonal computing resources 108 and 110 may be sitting idle while theuser is away. In one embodiment, a co-worker may ask that the user ofthe mobile endpoint device 106 print a copy of a document to theprinting device 112 that is in the office and near the co-worker. Theuser's work computer 108 may also be in the office and near the printingdevice 112. The user may send a print job request from the mobileendpoint device 106 to the user's work computer 108 to be converted andsent to the printing device 112 to be printed. Thus, a more efficientprocessing of the print job request may be provided compared to sendingthe print job request to the mobile print servers 104 that may belocated thousands of miles away from the mobile endpoint device 106 andthe printing device 112.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, if one of the mobile printservers 104 determines that personal computing resource 108 isregistered and available to perform the conversion of the print jobrequest and that it would be more efficient in terms of latency (e.g.,distance) and/or processing availability to send the print job requestto the personal computing resource 108, then the mobile print server 104may forward the print job request to the personal computing resource 108for processing (e.g., conversion of the document in the print jobrequest and routing the converted document of the print job request tothe printing device 112). As a result, processing power in the one ormore print servers 104 may be preserved, processing power of thepersonal computing resource that would otherwise sit idly may beutilized and the print job request may be processed faster due to theproximity of the personal computing resource 108 near the printingdevice 112 and/or the mobile endpoint device 106 relative to the one ormore print servers 104. The details of registering the one or morepersonal computing resources 108 and 110 and determining whether theprint job request is forwarded to the one or more personal computingresources 108 and 110 is discussed in further detail below inconjunction with FIGS. 2 and 3.

It should be noted that the communication network 100 has beensimplified. For example, the network 100 may include other networkelements such as border elements, routers, switches, policy servers,security devices, firewalls, a content distribution network (CDN), andthe like. In addition, the communication network 100 may includeadditional networks between the IP network 102 and the mobile endpointdevice 106, personal computing resources 108 and 110 and the printingdevice 112, such as different access networks.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a method 200 for registering one ormore personal computing resources with a mobile print server. In oneembodiment, the method 200 may be performed by one of the mobile printservers 104 or a general-purpose computer as illustrated in FIG. 4 anddiscussed below.

The method 200 begins at step 202. At step 204, the method 200 mayreceive data associated with a personal computing resource. In oneembodiment, a user may log into a mobile print extensible interfaceplatform (EIP), web portal or a mobile application to input variousinformation about one or more personal computing resources. In oneembodiment, the data may include any type of information that may helpthe mobile print servers 104 to identify and communicate with thepersonal computing resource. For example, the data may include a machinename, an address of the personal computing resource (e.g., a mediaaccess control (MAC) address, an IP address, domain name, extension,specific port information, and the like), a global positioning system(GPS) location information, a time of operation (e.g., when the personalcomputing resources is typically operating, turned on or connected tothe communication network), and the like.

At step 206, the method 200 sends a registration identification to thepersonal computing resource and a link to a software client to installon the personal computing resource. For example, the registrationidentification (e.g., a username and password) may be used to authorizethe personal computing resource to be accessed by the mobile printservers 104 when a print job request is sent by a mobile endpoint deviceof the user. In one embodiment, the software client may be installed onthe personal computing resource such that it is configured to establisha communication path with the mobile print servers 104 and process theprint job requests forwarded over the communications path by the mobileprint servers.

At step 208, the method 200 scans the personal computing resource todetermine one or more file types that are compatible for printing on thepersonal computing resource. For example, after the software client isinstalled on the personal computing resource, a communication sessionmay be established between one of the mobile print servers and thepersonal computing resource. The mobile print sever may then scan thepersonal computing resource to determine what file types are supportedfor conversion by the personal computing resource. For example, thepersonal computing resource may support certain word processing programfile types and certain database program file types. However, if aspreadsheet document file type were sent to the personal computingresource, the personal computing resource would not be able to performconversion on the print job request because the personal computingresource does not support spreadsheet file types. The results of thescan may be stored at the mobile print server and referenced at a latertime when determining whether a print job request should be forwarded toa personal computing resource, as discussed below with reference to FIG.3.

In one embodiment, the method 200 may be repeated if the user isregistering more than one personal computing resource with the mobileprint servers. In one embodiment, if the user registers more than onepersonal computing resource the user may set one of the personalcomputing resources as a preferred or default personal computingresource in a user profile. The method 200 ends at step 210.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method 300 for using a personalcomputing resource for mobile print conversion and routing. In oneembodiment, the method 300 may be performed by one of the mobile printservers 104 or a general-purpose computer as illustrated in FIG. 4 anddiscussed below.

The method 300 begins at step 302. At step 304, the method 300 mayreceive a print job request from a mobile endpoint device. In oneembodiment, the print job request may be received by one of the mobileprint servers to print a document. For example, a document may bedefined broadly as any data or electronic file that a user would like toprint, for example, a web page(s), a word processing page(s), an image,a graphic, a spreadsheet page(s), a screenshot, and the like. In oneembodiment, the print job request may include a specified printer orprinting device.

At step 306, the method 300 determines if a personal computing resourceis available. For example, the mobile print server may check to see if apersonal computing resource is registered for the user (as describedabove in method 200 and FIG. 2), whether the personal computing resourceis turned on and able to communicate with the mobile print server,whether the personal computing resources supports a file type of thedocument associated with the print job request, or any combinationthereof. It should be noted that any one or more of the checks may beperformed to determine if the personal computing resource is available.In other words, in one embodiment, it is not required that all of thechecks be performed for the mobile print server to determine that thepersonal computing resource is available. Alternatively, in anotherembodiment, all of the checks may be performed to determine if thepersonal computing resource is available.

At step 306 if the personal computing resource is not available, themethod 300 may proceed to step 316. At step 316, the method 300 performsprint conversion at the mobile print server. The method 300 may thenproceed to step 314.

However, at step 306 if the personal computing resource is available,the method 300 may proceed to step 308. At step 308, the method 300 maydetermine whether the print job request should be sent to the personalcomputing resource.

In one embodiment, the determination may be made based upon distance.For example, the mobile print server can check the GPS locationinformation of the personal computing resource provided during theregistration process of the personal computing device, as describedabove with respect to the method 200, to determine if the personalcomputing resource is in closer proximity to a printer (either selectedby the user that is included in the print job request or a printerselected by the mobile print server) than the mobile print server. Ifmore than one personal computing resource was registered, then themobile print server may determine which one of the registered personalcomputing resources are closest to the printing device and/or the mobileendpoint device.

In one embodiment, the determination may be made based upon an estimatedwait time to finish processing a current print queue of the mobile printserver versus the estimated time for the print job request to be sent tothe personal computing resource and have the personal computing resourceprocess the print job request (e.g., conversion of the document androuting to the printer). For example, although the mobile print servermay be closer to the printer than the personal computing resource, theremay be a large volume of print job requests being sent to the mobileprint servers. As a result, the print queues of the mobile print serversmay have a long wait time. Thus, the mobile print server may determinethat sending the print job request to the personal computing resourcefor processing may be faster than waiting for an available mobile printserver.

In another embodiment, the mobile print servers may be unavailable dueto scheduled maintenance, low availability of network bandwidth for themobile print servers or malfunction for conversion and routing. As aresult, the mobile print servers may re-direct the print job requests tothe personal computing resource. It should be noted that only a fewexamples are provided for various reasons for determining that the printjob request should be sent to the personal computing resource. However,it should be noted that other scenarios or examples to improveefficiency and availability for processing of print job requests frommobile endpoint devices may be within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

At step 308, if the print job request should not be sent to the personalcomputing resource, the method 300 may proceed to step 316. At step 316,the method 300 performs print conversion at the mobile print server. Themethod 300 may then proceed to step 314.

However, at step 308 if the method 300 determines that the print jobrequest should be sent to the personal computing resource, the method300 may proceed to optional step 310. At optional step 310, the method300 may determine if the personal computing resource has a copy of thedocument in the print job request. For example, the user may be tryingto print a copy of a word processing document from his or her mobileendpoint device. However, the user may have a copy of the document onhis or her desktop computer in the office.

At optional step 310, if the personal computing resource does not have acopy of the document in the print job request, the method 300 mayproceed to step 318. At step 318, the mobile print server may send acopy of the document to the personal computing resource. For example,the document may be sent with the print job request from the mobileendpoint device. Said another way, the mobile print server may forwardthe document in the print job request to the personal computingresource.

However, at optional step 310, if the personal computing resource doeshave a copy of the document in the print job request, the method 300 mayproceed to step 312. In other words, a copy of the document does notneed to be forwarded to the personal computing resource. As a result,bandwidth may be saved in the communications network and processingtimes may be improved as less time is required to send and process theprint job request.

At step 312, the method 300 sends the print job request to the personalcomputing resource for conversion. For example, the print job requestmay be sent with or without a copy of the document to be printed basedupon whether or not the personal computing resource has a copy of thedocument.

In one embodiment, the personal computing resource performs theconversion. In other words, the document to be printed in the print jobrequest is converted into a proper format (e.g., alignment, borderwidth, font and font size, spacing, color, paper size, and the like) forprinting.

At step 314, the method 300 sends the document to a spooler of theselected printer for printing. In other words, the personal computingresource routes the document that is converted to the selected printerand the document is printed. The method 300 may proceed to step 314 fromeither step 316 or 312.

In one embodiment, the personal computing resource may also sendinformation or data associated with the processing of the print jobrequest to the mobile print servers for auditing or reporting. Forexample, the data may include processing time, the data and time of theconversion and printing, a number of job requests processed by thepersonal computing resource, and the like.

In one embodiment, the decision to print to route the print job requestto either the mobile print server or to the personal computing resourcemay be transparent to the user. That is, the user may not necessarily beinformed after the print job request is submitted that the print jobrequest has been routed to the personal computing resource. In otherwords, the user may submit the print job request from his or her mobileendpoint device and simply go to the printing device to obtain the printout without knowing whether the print job request was routed via themobile print server or the personal computing resource. In anotherembodiment, the user may be sent a notification (e.g., an email or textmessage, or a push notification) indicating how the print job requestwas routed. The method ends at step 320.

It should be noted that although not explicitly specified, one or moresteps, functions, or operations of the methods 200 and 300 describedabove may include a storing, displaying and/or outputting step asrequired for a particular application. In other words, any data,records, fields, and/or intermediate results discussed in the methodscan be stored, displayed, and/or outputted to another device as requiredfor a particular application. Furthermore, steps, functions, oroperations in FIGS. 2 and 3 that recite a determining operation, orinvolve a decision, do not necessarily require that both branches of thedetermining operation be practiced. In other words, one of the branchesof the determining operation can be deemed as an optional step.

FIG. 4 depicts a high-level block diagram of a general-purpose computersuitable for use in performing the functions described herein. Asdepicted in FIG. 4, the system 400 comprises a processor element 402(e.g., a CPU), a memory 404, e.g., random access memory (RAM) and/orread only memory (ROM), a module 405 for mobile print conversion androuting, and various input/output devices 406 (e.g., storage devices,including but not limited to, a tape drive, a floppy drive, a hard diskdrive or a compact disk drive, a receiver, a transmitter, a speaker, adisplay, a speech synthesizer, an output port, and a user input device(such as a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, and the like)).

It should be noted that the present disclosure can be implemented insoftware and/or in a combination of software and hardware, e.g., usingapplication specific integrated circuits (ASIC), a general purposecomputer or any other hardware equivalents, e.g., computer readableinstructions pertaining to the method(s) discussed above can be used toconfigure a hardware processor to perform the steps of the abovedisclosed methods. In one embodiment, the present module or process 405for mobile print conversion and routing can be loaded into memory 404and executed by processor 402 to implement the functions as discussedabove. As such, the present method 405 for mobile print conversion androuting (including associated data structures) of the present disclosurecan be stored on a non-transitory (e.g., physical and tangible) computerreadable storage medium, e.g., RAM memory, magnetic or optical drive ordiskette and the like. For example, the hardware processor 402 can beprogrammed or configured with instructions (e.g., computer readableinstructions) to perform the steps, functions, or operations of methods200 and 300.

It will be appreciated that variants of the above-disclosed and otherfeatures and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined intomany other different systems or applications. Various presentlyunforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations, orimprovements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in theart which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for using a personal computing resourcefor mobile print conversion and routing, comprising: registering, by amobile print server, the personal computing resource with the mobileprint server before a print job request is received, wherein theregistering comprises: receiving data associated with the personalcomputing resource, wherein the data comprises a machine name, a timeperiod for operation, an address and a global positioning system (GPS)location information; and sending a registration identification to thepersonal computing resource and a link to a software client to installon the personal computing resource, wherein the software clientconfigures the personal computing resource to establish a communicationpath with the mobile print server; receiving by the mobile print serverthe print job request from a mobile endpoint device before the print jobrequest is sent to a printer; determining by the mobile print serverthat the personal computing resource is idle to convert the print jobrequest, wherein the personal computing resource is on at least one of:a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbookcomputer or an ultra book computer that is a user owned personalcomputer resource or an office assigned personal computer resource of auser of the mobile endpoint device; determining by the mobile printserver to send the print job request to the personal computing resource;sending by the mobile print server the print job request to the personalcomputing resource for conversion of a document in the print job requestthat is to be printed; and sending the document that is converted to aspooler of a selected printer to be printed.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the registering further comprises: scanning the personalcomputing resource to determine one or more file types that arecompatible for printing on the personal computing resource.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the determining at the mobile print serverthat the personal computing resource is idle comprises: determining thatthe personal computing resource is on and capable of communicating withthe mobile print server.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thedetermining at the mobile print server that the personal computingresource is idle comprises: determining that the personal computingresource is compatible with a file type of the document in the print jobrequest.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining at the mobileprint server to send the print job request to the personal computingresource comprises: determining that the personal computing resource islocated at a location that is closer to the mobile endpoint device thana location of the mobile print server.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinthe determining at the mobile print server to send the print job requestto the personal computing resource comprises: determining that a waittime for the mobile print server to finish processing a print jobrequest queue would be longer than an amount of time required to sendthe print job request to the personal computing resource and have thepersonal computing resource process the print job request.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein the determining at the mobile print server to sendthe print job request to the personal computing resource comprises:determining that the personal computing resource does not have a copy ofthe document in the print job request.
 8. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing a plurality of instructions, which whenexecuted by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations forusing a personal computing resource for mobile print conversion androuting, the operations comprising: registering the personal computingresource with a mobile print server before a print job request isreceived, wherein the registering comprises: receiving data associatedwith the personal computing resource, wherein the data comprises amachine name, a time period for operation, an address and a globalpositioning system (GPS) location information; and sending aregistration identification to the personal computing resource and alink to a software client to install on the personal computing resource,wherein the software client configures the personal computing resourceto establish a communication path with the mobile print server;receiving the print job request from a mobile endpoint device before theprint job request is sent to a printer; determining that the personalcomputing resource is idle to convert the print job request, wherein thepersonal computing resource is on at least one of: a desktop computer, atablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook computer or an ultra bookcomputer that is a user owned personal computer resource or an officeassigned personal computer resource of a user of the mobile endpointdevice; determining to send the print job request to the personalcomputing resource; sending the print job request to the personalcomputing resource for conversion of a document in the print job requestthat is to be printed; and sending the document that is converted to aspooler of a selected printer to be printed.
 9. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the registering furthercomprises: scanning the personal computing resource to determine one ormore file types that are compatible for printing on the personalcomputing resource.
 10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 8, wherein the determining that the personal computing resource isidle comprises: determining that the personal computing resource is onand capable of communicating with the mobile print server.
 11. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein thedetermining that the personal computing resource is idle comprises:determining that the personal computing resource is compatible with afile type of the document in the print job request.
 12. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein thedetermining to send the print job request to the personal computingresource comprises: determining that the personal computing resource islocated at a location that is closer to the mobile endpoint device thana location of the mobile print server.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the determining to send theprint job request to the personal computing resource comprises:determining that a wait time for the mobile print server to finishprocessing a print job request queue would be longer than an amount oftime required to send the print job request to the personal computingresource and have the personal computing resource process the print jobrequest.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8,wherein the determining to send the print job request to the personalcomputing resource comprises: determining that the personal computingresource does not have a copy of the document in the print job request.15. A method for mobile print conversion and routing, comprising:registering by a mobile print server one or more personal computingresources, wherein the one or more personal computing resources are onat least one of: a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a laptopcomputer, a netbook computer or an ultra book computer that is a userowned personal computer resource or an office assigned personal computerresource of a user of the mobile endpoint device that is requesting aprint job request, wherein registering each one of the one or morepersonal computing resources comprises: receiving a machine name, a timeperiod for operation, an address and a global positioning system (GPS)location information; sending each one of the one or more personalcomputing resources a software client to install on the each one of theone or more personal computing resources, wherein the software clientconfigures the personal computing resource to establish a communicationpath with the mobile print server; and scanning each one of the one ormore personal computing resources to determine one or more file typesthat are capable of being printed on the each one of the one or morepersonal computing resources; receiving by the mobile print server theprint job request from the mobile endpoint device before the print jobrequest is sent to a printer; identifying by the mobile print serverthat the one or more personal computing resources are registered andthat one of the one or more personal computing resources that is on, isidle, communicating with the mobile print server and a file type of adocument in the print job request matches the one or more file typesthat are capable of being printed on the one of the one or more personalcomputing resources; determining by the mobile print server that theprint job request is to be sent to the one of the one or more personalcomputing resources based upon a wait time for the mobile print serverto finish processing a print job request queue and a location of themobile print server; and sending by the mobile print server the printjob request to the one of the one or more personal computing resourcesfor conversion of the document in the print job request that is to beprinted.